Little (Grrl) Lost by Charles de Lint

TJ is a fourteen-year-old girl who's having some difficulties fitting in at her new school and adjusting to her new life in the city. TJ's a farm girl, but financial difficulties forced her family to sell the farm and move to a suburb where all the houses are identical. TJ, however, discovers that her typical suburban house, however, is home to something not so typical: a family of Littles. Six-inch-high people who live in the walls. She thinks they're mice at first--but then she meets Elizabeth, a girl a couple of years older than TJ who's running away from her family. Elizabeth and TJ have a lot in common-but Elizabeth is small enough to worry about being hunted by TJ's pet cat!

Little (Grrl) Lost is the second of Charles de Lint's books that I've read. I adored The Blue Girl, so this book had a lot to live up to! While I think that in the end, The Blue Girl was a little better, but this book still did not disappoint. It's a wonderfully creative fantasy adventure, quite fast-paced and enjoyable. I preferred Elizabeth's chapters, but both TJ and Elizabeth, as well as the supporting cast of characters, were fantastic! Little (Grrl) Lost is well worth reading, and is so fast-paced and absorbing that it can be easily read in an afternoon.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9

Reviewer Age: 16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Asheville, NC USA

Al's World: Monday Morning Blitz by Elise Leonard

After being bumped into at the bus stop, Al, a high school student, finds a mysterious flash drive in his pocket. Al goes to John, the smartest kid in school, to discover what's on the flash drive. After being in a bus crash and caught in gun fire, Al's simple life has turned chaotic. The safety of the United States is at risk. Al must somehow avoid the terrorist chasing him and return the vital information to the FBI.

Al's World is a quick easy read. It has a lot of unexpected twists and turns. I wish the author would have expanded on the plot and made it a longer book. In other books I've read, the teenager is related to a knight or a spy so they're destined for adventure. However, in Al's case he's just your everyday kid who winds up in a crazy situation.

Content: A knee injury was bloody and there was some shooting.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7

Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Hamilton, OH USA

Blood Brothers by S. A. Harazin

Clay has known Joey just about all his life. When they were young they spit into a coke bottle making themselves official blood brothers because they considered saliva on a par with blood. One night when Clay was visiting Joey he found his friend out of control and obviously drunk or on drugs, this was not like him at all! Now Joey was in the hospital fighting for his life. Clay, having been blamed for Joey’s condition must prove his innocence, keep his job at the hospital, and recount painful memories to find out who ruined his best friend’s life, perhaps permanently.

Blood Brothers is a novel about the painful and gruesome facts and stories of teenage drug and alcohol abuse. This book broadened my view of this tragic and widespread problem. My heart aches for any person struggling with substance abuse. Also, many people don’t consider the pain of parents and friends watching their loved one destroy their lives. This wasn’t a warm, fuzzy, feel-good novel nevertheless I respect the author’s realistic presentation of the grim circumstances surrounding illicit drug use. This story will probable stick with me for the rest of my life.

Content: Unfortunately, this book has offensive language, graphic detail of surgical procedures, and sexual references.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7

Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: , USA NC

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause

Vivian Gandillon is a sixteen year old werewolf. She loves being one and running under the moonlight. However, she can't seem to get over her father's death, caused by other werewolfs that were being careless. Then, she falls in love with a human named Aiden. He is fascinated by magic. Meanwhile, back in the wolf pack, they are deciding who will become the new leader, since her father was the old one, and which female will become his mate. During the Ordeal to determine the leader, Vivian protects her mother from another woman and becomes the female who will get to be his mate. Vivian then decides she should reveal her true nature to Aiden because he would still love her but know everything about her. Now she can choose her lover. Should she tell Aiden about her true self, or stick with one of her kind?

I really fell in love with Blood and Chocolate as soon as I started reading it. I thought that it was a very creative story that many twists inside of it. Each character is very different but somehow they all fit together as friends, as lovers, or as enemies. I loved how Vivian was faced with different problems the whole story and she kept coming up with creative ways to deal with them. I recommend this book for anyone who likes fantasy or love stories.

Content: This book has a bit of violence, bad language, and sexuality.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9

Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States of America

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse is the third book in Stephenie Meyer’s outstanding vampire series. Bella was just an average girl, until she met Edward. The vampire Edward has stunning good looks and is most charming, however, his love comes at a huge cost. Now Bella is being hunted by a revenge seeking, crazy vampire, named Victoria. She is also being forced to choose between Edward, her true love, or Jacob, her best friend, who is a werewolf. Bella has to decide on life or death, vampire or human. Which will she choose?

Opinion: This is an excellent book, full of mysterious murders and suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Eclipse is a spectacular love saga that is unpredictable and unlike any love story I have every read. From beginning to end, Eclipse will astonish you with every twist and turn. I highly recommend this book.

Content: Eclipse had a lot of make out senses and was slightly gory.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9

Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Lemoore, CA USA

The Power of One by Bryce Courteney

Who doesn't know the dramma club? They practically run the school, and are the people everybody wants to be. But Kara doesn't know that. All she sees is an oppurtunity to be someone else. Someone different then who she was in her old town. But somehow she finds herself as stage manager, even though she doesnt even know what she's doing! Then a boy complicates Karas first real friendship in Ridgefield. And on top of all that, memories are coming to haunt Kara. Ones she tried to leave behind when she moved... When a disaster stikes right before opening night, will the show go on? Or will the much anticipated Fall Production never even see opening night.

I enjoyed this book. I started to read it on the first day of school, and it even put me in the mood to try out for my schools drama club! And Peter Lerangis describes perfectly the way real school kids act, so it doeesn't sound at all fake. It flows along smoothly, and isn't one of those books you can tell the author is bad, beacuse you know that this author isn't trying to much to be 'cool.' Easy to read, and a great school story, Drama Club: The Fall Musical takes of without a hitch, and is a joyfuly pleasant trip, right down to the last page.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8

Reviewer Age: 12

Reviewer City, State and Country: Casa Grande, Arizona Unites States of America

Drama Club: The Fall Musical by Peter Lerangis

Who doesn't know the dramma club? They practically run the school, and are the people everybody wants to be. But Kara doesn't know that. All she sees is an oppurtunity to be someone else. Someone different then who she was in her old town. But somehow she finds herself as stage manager, even though she doesnt even know what she's doing! Then a boy complicates Karas first real friendship in Ridgefield. And on top of all that, memories are coming to haunt Kara. Ones she tried to leave behind when she moved... When a disaster stikes right before opening night, will the show go on? Or will the much anticipated Fall Production never even see opening night.

I enjoyed this book. I started to read it on the first day of school, and it even put me in the mood to try out for my schools drama club! And Peter Lerangis describes perfectly the way real school kids act, so it doeesn't sound at all fake. It flows along smoothly, and isn't one of those books you can tell the author is bad, beacuse you know that this author isn't trying to much to be 'cool.' Easy to read, and a great school story, Drama Club: The Fall Musical takes of without a hitch, and is a joyfuly pleasant trip, right down to the last page.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8

Reviewer Age: 12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Casa Grande, Arizona Unites States of America

Muddle Earth by Paul Stewart

A boy named Joe and his dog are transported to Muddle Earth, a magical world, while taking a walk. There, they team up with an incompetent wizard, talkative bird, and dull-witted ogre to make some money for their new allies. To do this, the wizard equips Joe with a warrior costume and hires him out to the Horned Baron, the ruler of the land. The Horned Baron has Joe do tasks for his obnoxious wife. While accomplishing these, Joe realizes that he must rescue the other wizards being held hostage by the evil Dr. Cuddles if he ever wants to return. He and his band set off to try to accomplish this nearly impossible feat. Will they succeed?

This book was both good and bad. Sometimes the book was very funny and made me laugh out loud. At other points, the humor was stupid and hurt the novel. There were many plot twists, but they were only sometimes exciting or shocking. Other times, they were just plain dumb. The ending was nice, but there was no serious climax. It was a so-so book.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 5

Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Royersford, Pennsylvania United States

One Is One by Barbara Leonie Picard

Stephen de Beauville was from a family of knights, but it seemed he was unfit for this profession. He was afraid of dogs, couldn't stand up for himself, and had a talent for drawing. His father, however, merely stated that he would be a monk. Stephen had no friends, and his siblings tormented him all the time. One day, his father's prize bitch gave birth to a litter of seven pups, but one was small and was to be drowned. Stephen, out of sheer pity, told them he would take it so it wouldn't be drowned. When he receives it, he immediately attempts to abandon it, but ends up rescuing it and keeping it. Naming him Amile, after the friend he never had, Stephen overcame his fear of dogs, and was no longer tormented as Amile was faithful and stood up for him when he was hit. Then, however, his father was going to send him to a monastery, and he couldn't keep Amile. Rather than give him to his cruel, abusive brother, Stephen decided to have Amile put down. At the monastery, he remained reclusive, speaking only when necessary. In his lessons, he often drew on his slate, and after so many beatings, his teacher finally sent him to the scriptorium. Over the next few months, Stephen would go there and be taught to draw by Brother Ernulf, the master of the scriptorium. His talent became so pronounced that he was allowed to draw in the gospels that Brother Ernulf was making, and no one, as yet, had been allowed to draw in it. However, Ernulf was grouchy and rarely complimented anyone, so Stephen never knew how great an artist he really was. Therefore, when his brothers came to make fun of him one day, he had no reason to stay and ran off from the monastery to seek to become a knight. After ten days of begging and working for meager amounts of food, he finally stole a loaf of bread from a woman who promptly called for help. Stephen was thrown onto the ground and beaten. Fortunately, Sir Paine Latourelle, or Sir Pagan, came along and stopped them. Stephen told Sir Pagan of his ambitions and Sir Pagan took him on as his squire. When Sir Pagan joined with another noble to attempt to rescue the king, most of his men were killed, leaving Stephen, Sir Pagan, and Ranulf, a mercenary. Ranulf sold them anonymously, and Sir Pagan managed to save Stephen by blaming him for turning him in. So, Sir Pagan was beheaded in front of a crowd, and Stephen went into a state of depression, unable to talk for many months. Finally, his uncle found him and took him as his squire. Stephen remained with his uncle for many years, going on a pilgrimage with him and continued until he was knighted. Then, on their way to war with the Scots, Stephen's squire's parents died, so his squire had to return to England. Stephen took on a new squire, one with a reputation of misbehaving, Thomas FitzAmory. Thomas was quite sullen for the first few weeks, then, after attempting to anger Stephen by putting salt in his wine and being forced to drink it, he opened up and he and Stephen became close friends. This friendship, however, was once again not to last. After the campaign, as they headed back to England, Thomas was struck with smallpox and died. Stephen, once again without friends, finally realized that he was meant to be an artist. After remembering Sir Pagan's last words to him, "Do not be afraid to do what you want to do," Stephen explained to his uncle that he wished to return the the monastery at Richley, he was welcomed back with open arms, and he was set to work by Ernulf to finish the gospels, as Ernulf was nearly blind. There at the monastery Stephen lived out the rest of his life in happiness.

One is One by Barbara Leonie Picard not only is a great story, but sends a great message. It will make you feel what Stephen is feeling as Picard describes the helpless pup Amile, and how all of Stephen's friends and companions were torn away from him. It was hard to put down at night, and the first thing in my hand in the morning. I've never read a book quite like it. The message it sends from Sir Pagan's quote is wonderful. "Do not be afraid to do what you want to do." This was an outstanding book.

Content: Some slightly gory descriptions

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9

Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Chambersburg, PA United States

Jimmy Coates: Target by Joe Craig

Jimmy Coates is an 11 year old boy in France with his friends and family. He is a cyborg created by NJ7, a secret British agency. His goal in life was to kill. While hiding from them, he learns that he is not the only assassin created by NJ7. This assassin has only one mission: bring Jimmy back to London.

Jimmy Coates: Target, by Joe Craig, is the sequel to the book Jimmy Coates: Assassin. This clever book focuses on the fact that there is a second programmed assassin. This "equal" is after Jimmy in an adventure that will not be forgotten. The new characters brought into this book are phenominal and fit well with the overall storyline. I would recommend this book to any reader over the age of 11 who is looking for an action/adventure worth reading.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8

Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Chambersburg, Pennsylvania United States of America